In Provincetown, bears never hibernate for too long: From July 6 to 15, thousands of furry folks frolicked through the seaside resort during Ptown’s annual Bear Week. Highlights included parties like Woof and Beardependance, plus walking tours, crafts fairs, a sneak peek of Bear City 2, boat cruises and an meet-and-greet with straight bear icon Ben Cohen.
It’s enough to make you want to stop manscaping!
But an absolute must for cubs and polar bears alike was the infamous tea dance held daily at the Boatslip. And our intrepid wildlife photographers were fortunate enough to capture the various clans in their natural habitat. Take a look.
Click through to see images from the Bear Week 2012 tea dance in Provincetown
Photos: WickedGayBlog, Bear Lens Photography
In Provincetown, bears never hibernate for too long: From July 6 to 15, thousands of furry folks frolicked through the seaside resort during Ptown’s annual Bear Week. Highlights included parties like Woof and Beardependance, plus walking tours, crafts fairs, a sneak peek of Bear City 2, boat cruises and an meet-and-greet with straight bear icon Ben Cohen.
It’s enough to make you want to stop manscaping!
But an absolute must for cubs and polar bears alike was the infamous tea dance held daily at the Boatslip. And our intrepid wildlife photographers were fortunate enough to capture the various clans in their natural habitat. Take a look.
Click through to see images from the Bear Week 2012 tea dance in Provincetown
Photos: WickedGayBlog, Bear Lens Photography
Truthful
those star tattoos… gross.
unreligious
Kind of funny that almost all of the photo are of what’s know as otters (slim hairy guys) rather than bears (husky or fat hairy guys).
Tony
Did you not even try to find a brown person to photograph? Ptown and Fire Island have turned into the over forty and white meccas for gay men. Sorry examples of LGBT life.
Alex
ewwwww
Collin
These pics are not representative of the bear community at all. Like unreligious said, it’s not Otter With The Occasional Muscle Bear Week, it’s Bear Week. I am disappointed in the lack of diversity shown. But mostly just bummed that there are no pics of real beefy bears.
Kyle215
Not sure what the new definition of “bear” is, but most of these guys look like every day guys who simply grew a beard.
JAW
@Tony:
check pic 15
If you are sooo unhappy about lack of Men of color at events… Then get them to show up. Do not put the blame on those of us that show up at events… put the blame on those that do NOT show up.
Better yet… put your sorry ass to work and set up an event for the group that you think should be together… most bars, resorts and even many cities are looking to. get events going… perhaps you can help them
redcarpet
Good thing we eliminated all the guys with more than 2 percent body fat.
Dino
Woof! Love bears. Hot post.
Len
Photo 6 has a good shot of former Colt model Bruno still looking amazing.
Evan
*Yawn* Cliquey bears in a way too expensive LGBT ghetto resort town.
Steve
Tony-There’s a black man in pic number 15 and an Asian man in pic 2.
Ramon H.
Heh this just shows me why I wouldn’t want to go to BEAR week or Provincetown at all, it does not look like that fun of an event unless you like hanging around cliquey and vapid bears who are mainly all white.
shannon
VOMITS……………………………………
Robert
Most of the guys were quite nice to look at, minus the guy with the star tattoos and driving cap and the white guy with dreadlocks ; but that only reflects on my tastes, not on those guys. To be honest, the pics look like any other summer time gathering of gay men; shirtless, smiling, beverage in hand, strangers grouped together for uncomfortable poses, really standard stuff. Plus, this is representative of what the photographer likes, not representative of who attended. I give most of these comments a D because of a total lack of understanding or critical thinking.
james
That’s a lot of steroid abuse in those pictures
Oscar Raymundo
I don’t know what you guys are talking about. There is at least one fat person in each of these photos.
Alex
I’m most upset by the commentary at the beginning. The wording demonstrates a clear exclusion and “other-ness” from the writer and reader to this gathering of “bears.” It’s little things like this that just promote further exclusion and separation in the gay community.
ADZ
The tall otter in pic #5, damn… he is totally my type!
mrzodiac2003
I am very happy to see guys who take care of themselves and their bodies “otters”. Thanks for not showing all husky and over weight men.
EBA
They all look and pose like hairy high school girls.
RomanHans
As usual I don’t know what anybody’s talking about.
#18: What are you talking about?
#17: Replace the word “fat” with “slightly chubby” and I’ll agree.
#15: These pix look like “any summer gathering” of gay men? You obviously haven’t been to New York.
#8: Well, except for all the chubby guys.
#6: These look like “every day guys who grew a beard”? Really? I’m moving into your building.
#4 and #14: If you don’t like bears, SHUT THE FUCK UP AND CLICK ON ANOTHER PAGE.
Kevin Waring
RomanHaus. Great post and I couldn’t agree more. It’s a great event with all manner of BEARS and they all have a great time so the previous posters with negative attitudes wouldn’t be welcome anyway!
dean
@Robert:
I agree, Robert.
Hey non-fans of bears: too bad if you don’t like them, that just means more bears for me!
Spike
Yeah… where are the BEARS in these photos? This is a disturbing trend in bear events and activities. Any guy with a beard is now qualifying as a bear??? The Bear idea came about as a response against the mainstream gay communities tendency to not accept anyone who isn’t extremely thin and/or muscular, shaved, etc… Where’s the real men at this event, or in these pics?
Aeiou
I’m guessing those pics were taken at tea at the Boatslip. Decades ago when I use to go each summer, I was taking pictures of friends on the deck. The house photographer , who was trying to hawk his own SX-70 instant pics, told me I could only take in the direction of the water and not the hotel, as there were people still in the closet who didn’t want photos of them at a gay resort being taken. Things have change :o)
Josh
@Collin: The guys in these photos are not bears, they are men who have gotten too old for Splash or XES Lounge and decided to stop shaving and using dilapitories. Ten years ago, they were disgusted by bears and they probably would just laugh if a stocky guy came anywhere near them.
Tom
number 6, second from left, looks like early ’80s porn and Colt model Bruno. wet dream for many a night.
DJ
LMAO these men are NOT bears at all! Just Marys who have grown facial hair and I’m sure they open up their mouths and flowers pop out!
Yes I also see bodies of men who are taking steroids.
Pokermiracles
Josh (no 27) You are so right. I was at Bear week and I’m a fat hairy dude and basically the guys there were the run off from the July 4 week (circuit week) Plenty of Steroids and muscles and attitude, just WITH hair as opposed to not. Also a little (very little) extra is in as is beards and hair so of course the muscle queens too old for the standard gay life are now jumping on the bear bandwagon bringing their attitude with them.
The standard bears are too p.c. to say anything about it as “The Bear community is inclusive to all” but the muscle bears will push out everyone and then we will have to fracture off again and have to use a new name.
Bear was something strong and cuddly and a great image. People wont be happy until they push out traditional bears and we will just have to call ourselves, “Fat Disgusting Pigs whom no one wants” and then maybe there will be a chance for us to actually feel good about ourselves in an environment where our “branding” won’t be so easily Co- opted and Corr- upted and we and the (amazingly enough) many admirers that we have can have an opportunity to enjoy our bodies without the shame and stigma that the rest of the gay community and world in general likes to heap upon us.
Colby
@Pokermiracles:
Thanks for this insight. Having lived in NYC for 20 years I agree with your assessment on how bear culture is devolving. Once a community that was accepting of those on the outside, but now those who no longer fit the muscle mary, steroid, pretty boy scene of the the 90s have co-opted the term “bear” and are trying to re-define it. Growing a bear and not shaving their chests is their idea of being a bear. They forgot that it is a mindset of acceptance and community. They are simply giving the same attitude as they did when they were the pretty young thing at the bar. This time they are just doing it with more hair.
John
It looks like the photographer never left the Boatslip, as all the pictures are taken there. I can say for a fact that there were events happening all over town. I agree that pictures do not represent Bear week. Just a Tea dance at the Boatslip during Bear week.
JAW
@John:
The article states that the pics were at the Boat Slip for Tea Dance, so it was easy to figure that out.
As for Bears… there are many different types.. I was always told that bears were the most welcoming and inclusive groups within the Gay Men’s community. No attitude, it did not matter how you looked… indeed there are a lot of sub-cultures in the community… Muscle Bears, cubs, otters, Polar Bears, Black Bears, Brown Bears… and Big ol’ Grizzly’s
Sounds like some on here want to wreck the fun group… I hope you do not succeed
jerald
Wow. There sure are a lot of rules regarding ones “bearness”. I like em hairy..but I’m not fat…and I’m not butch….so maybe one of you all could help me find which group I belong in…or maybe you could just lighten the hell up and enjoy some pics. Yeah. Do that.
Brandon
LMAO I agree that the whole “Bear” scene is a total joke now and has been for the last few decades!
Pete
Lighten up is right…
I was at Bear Week too and had a blast. I’m a big ol’ hairy guy (think I’m a polar bear) attended many events, including Tea Dance, and never felt shunned or disregarded.
Maybe i only hung out with the nice guys…or maybe others reflect the attitude you project, just sayin’
chub4bears
Only 1 chub? Has the Bear community fallen prey to the whole hierarchy of muscular attractiveness that the bear movement was created to rebel against? Is the photographer only taking pics of guys he personally thinks are hot? At least your found the one black man in P-town…thank you.
HungBear
Why sound so Bitter and Jaded, Relax and be nice to other gay Men….
Hi There I'm Tom
LMAO, again Queerty posts pictures of men having a good time and the sad, lonely pigs come out of hiding and shit on everyone’s parade. Like fucking clockwork around here.
dogwalker
Not sure where to start. Been to Ptown bear week about 4 or the last 5 years. Did the boat slip tea dance 4 of 6 days this year. Love the town. Love the friends I’ve known for years. However, had a lot more fun in the past and met more people in the past. Not sure I’ll be going back for bear week any time soon.
Bear week seems to have gotten too big for the venues and the town. Steroids and drugs are not always pretty either and there seemed to be a lot of that going around this year. To each their own. Everything is in motion after all and change is a given.
I think more fun could be had during another week. Ptown is a great place; I can’t wait to get back to the town itself. It probably won’t be bear week.
Ron W.
sweet Jesus!!!!!! Is it possible to have a perfect line-up of HOT HOT men. Well I think they got damn close. WOW this is spectacular. They are all so wonderful i am drooling. I only wish i looked half as good as that. Have fun guys. Take care, Bearhugs…
baltobrd
Yes, tea at Bear Week, and what can be seen of it in pics posted around the web, was quite a bit different from what’s represented here. I can’t really put all the blame on the photographer. After all, there’s an editor who’s going to select the photos that he thinks a mainstream gay audience is going to want to see.
If you are a big bear and don’t see yourself represented here, by all means, speak up. However, don’t get too upset just because some publisher in San Francisco doesn’t realize that other men find you attractive. There are always going to be people who feel they have the divine right to tell you what’s in and what’s out. The blatant rejection of these opinions (and those of the people to posted “eeeew” and “Vomit”) and being yourself is what I thought “Bear” is all about.
aaerobear
A lot of the guys in the pics have big ole burley bears as husbears who were probably at the bar soaking up the “tea” of teadance while the younguns pranced and played around with the other cubs, otters, etc.
Just sayin.